Tuesday Sector Leaders: Technology & Communications, Industrial

The best performing sector as of midday Tuesday is the Technology & Communications sector, higher by 1.9%. Within the sector, Microchip Technology Inc (Symbol: MCHP) and Palo Alto Networks, Inc (Symbol: PANW) are two large stocks leading the way, showing a gain of 3.9% and 3.7%, respectively. Among technology ETFs, one ETF following the sector is the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (Symbol: XLK), which is up 1.8% on the day, and up 38.83% year-to-date. Microchip Technology Inc, meanwhile, is up 25.63% year-to-date, and Palo Alto Networks, Inc is up 82.64% year-to-date. Combined, MCHP and PANW make up approximately 1.5% of the underlying holdings of XLK.

The next best performing sector is the Industrial sector, higher by 1.8%. Among large Industrial stocks, Generac Holdings Inc (Symbol: GNRC) and Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. (Symbol: ODFL) are the most notable, showing a gain of 9.1% and 6.5%, respectively. One ETF closely tracking Industrial stocks is the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI), which is up 1.2% in midday trading, and up 7.89% on a year-to-date basis. Generac Holdings Inc, meanwhile, is up 46.33% year-to-date, and Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. is up 26.35% year-to-date. Combined, GNRC and ODFL make up approximately 1.3% of the underlying holdings of XLI.

Comparing these stocks and ETFs on a trailing twelve month basis, below is a relative stock price performance chart, with each of the symbols shown in a different color as labeled in the legend at the bottom:

Here's a snapshot of how the S&P 500 components within the various sectors are faring in afternoon trading on Tuesday. As you can see, eight sectors are up on the day, while one sector is down.

10 ETFs With Stocks That Insiders Are Buying »

Also see:

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.